Ministerial Declaration on Ending Violence and Discrimination against Individuals Based on Their Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
The following is a declaration issued by members of the LGBT Core Group at the United Nations following their meeting.
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1. We, ministers of Argentina, Brazil, Croatia, El Salvador, France, Israel, Japan, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and United States, and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy — members of the LGBT Core Group at the United Nations — hereby declare our strong and determined commitment to eliminating violence and discrimination against individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity.
2. In so doing, we reaffirm our conviction that human rights are the birthright of every human being. Those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender ( LGBT ) must enjoy the same human rights as everyone else.
3. We welcome the many positive steps taken in recent decades to protect LGBT individuals from human rights violations and abuses. Since 1990, some 40 countries have abolished discriminatory criminal sanctions used to punish individuals for consensual, adult same-sex conduct. In many countries, hate crime laws and other measures have been introduced to combat homophobic violence, and anti-discrimination laws have been strengthened to provide effective legal protection against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in the workplace and other spheres, both public and private.
4. We also recognize that countering discrimination involves challenging popular prejudices, and we welcome efforts by Governments, national human rights institutions and civil society to counter homophobic and transphobic attitudes in society at large, including through concerted public education campaigns.
5. We assert our support for, and pay tribute to, LGBT human rights defenders and others advocating for the human rights of LGBT persons. Their work, often carried out at considerable personal risk, plays a critical role in documenting human rights violations, providing support to victims, and sensitizing Governments and public opinion.
6. We commend the adoption by the United Nations Human Rights Council of resolution 17/19 on human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity, and we welcome the efforts of the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner for Human Rights to raise global awareness of human rights challenges facing LGBT individuals, and to mobilize support for measures to counter violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
7. Nevertheless, we remain gravely concerned that LGBT persons in all regions of the world continue to be victims of serious and widespread human rights violations and abuses.
8. A landmark 2011 study by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which drew on almost two decades worth of work by United Nations human rights mechanisms, found a deeply disturbing pattern of violence and discriminatory laws and practices affecting individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity.
9. It is a tragedy that, in this second decade of the 21st century, consensual, adult, same-sex relations remain criminalized in far too many countries — exposing millions of people to the risk of arrest and imprisonment and, in some countries, the death penalty. These laws are inconsistent with States' human rights obligations and commitments, including with respect to privacy and freedom from discrimination. In addition, they may lead to violations of the prohibitions against arbitrary arrest or detention and torture, and in some cases the right to life.
10. In all parts of the world — including in our own — LGBT individuals are subjected to intimidation, physical assault, and sexual violence, and even murder. Discriminatory treatment is also widely reported, inhibiting the enjoyment of a range of human rights — including the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, and work, education and enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health.
11. We are fully committed to tackling these violations and abuses — both at the domestic level, including through continued attention to the impact of current policies, and at the global level, including through concerted action at the United Nations.
12. We recognize the importance of continued dialogue between and within countries concerning how best to protect the human rights of LGBT persons, taking into account regional initiatives. In this context, we welcome the outcome of a series of recent regional consultations on the topic of human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity that took place in March and April 2013, and encourage the holding of further such meetings at regional and national levels.
13. Key to protecting the human rights of LGBT individuals is the full and effective implementation of applicable international human rights law. Existing international human rights treaties provide legally binding guarantees of human rights for all — LGBT people included. But for these guarantees to have meaning they must be respected by Governments, with whom legal responsibility for the protection of human rights lies.
14. Cognizant of the urgent need to take action, we therefore call on all United Nations Member States to repeal discriminatory laws, improve responses to hate-motivated violence, and ensure adequate and appropriate legal protection from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
15. We strongly encourage the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue its efforts to increase understanding of the human rights challenges facing LGBT people, advocate for legal and policy measures to meet these challenges, and assist the United Nations human rights mechanisms in this regard.
16. We agree with the United Nations Secretary-General's assessment that combating violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity constitutes "one of the great, neglected human rights challenges of our time". We hereby commit ourselves to working together with other States and civil society to make the world safer, freer and fairer for LGBT people everywhere.
International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission report:
The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission(IGLHRC) welcomed an unprecedented Ministerial Meeting at the United Nations on September 26 to address violence and discrimination against individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity.
At the closed-door meeting 10 Member States, in a joint declaration, stated:
"We, ministers of Argentina, Brazil, Croatia, France, Israel, Japan, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and United States, and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy — members of the LGBT Core Group at the United Nations — hereby declare our strong and determined commitment to eliminating violence and discrimination against individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity."
The historic meeting provided a forum for ministers and other high-level representatives of Member States, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and representatives of Human Rights Watch and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) to discuss advancements for protecting the human rights of LGBT persons, and to secure commitments from Member States to this end.
Jessica Stern, executive director of IGLHRC, delivered remarks, saying:.
"As we celebrate this historic meeting, I want to acknowledge that we are not in an easy fight. It is not a fight for a comma or the mere mention of LGBT people in a UN resolution. It is, for many, a fight for our lives. It is, fundamentally, a fight about privilege. Privilege based on gender and sexuality, but inextricably linked to race, bodily autonomy, class, health status, and every other movement for universal human rights. It bears remembering that the rights of the most vulnerable are a litmus test to the strength of the rule of law for all."
Representatives of Member States in attendance articulated their full commitment to tackling these human rights violations domestically, including continued attention to the impact of current policies, and internationally, including through concerted action at the United Nations.
To read the declaration in full, visit: Ministerial Declaration, iglhrc.us5.list-manage.com/track/click .
Background
A landmark 2011 study by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, drawing on two decades of human rights patterns, found that 76 countries criminalize adult same-sex consensual relationships. The study revealed that States discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in the workplace, education and health sectors. In addition, hate-motivated violence against LGBT people is present in various regions, which include but are not limited to, physical assault, sexual violence and targeted killings.
The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), founded in 1990, is a leading international human rights organization dedicated to improving the lives of people who experience discrimination or abuse on the basis of their sexual orientation, gender identity or expression. We are dedicated to strengthening the capacity of the LGBT human rights movement worldwide to conduct documentation of LGBT human rights violations and by engaging in human rights advocacy with partners around the globe. We work with the United Nations, regional human rights monitoring bodies and civil society partners. IGLHRC holds consultative status at the United Nations as a recognized Non-Governmental Organization representing the concerns and human rights of lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender people worldwide. For more information about the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission visit: www.iglhrc.org .
